J.A. Happ torments former team again as Cardinals hand Pirates 6th straight loss

The last time the Pittsburgh Pirates faced J.A. Happ, the 38-year-old left-hander flirted with history by taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning before Jacob Stallings broke it up.

That was on April 23 at Target Field, when Happ was pitching for the Minnesota Twins. Nearly four months later, after Happ changed teams in a trade deadline deal, he maintained a mastery over his former team.

Happ allowed one hit – albeit a home run – in six innings to outduel Pirates lefty Steven Brault as the St. Louis Cardinals cruised to a 4-1 win Tuesday night before 10,056 at PNC Park.

“I think both times we’ve faced him, he’s executed balls on both sides of the plate,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “He’s given us trouble. To say in his other starts, I don’t know. But both of his starts against us, he’s really executed balls to both sides … especially the fastball to the both sides of the plate.”

Where the Cardinals (55-56) pulled to .500, the Pirates (41-71) lost their sixth consecutive game after being swept by the Cincinnati Reds.

After getting home runs from Willians Astudillo and Jake Cave for a 2-0 cushion in their first meeting, Happ (6-6) once again got a pair of home runs for an early lead.

Leadoff hitter Tommy Edman crushed a 2-1 changeup 418 feet into the left field bleachers for a 1-0 lead in the first inning. In the second inning, Brault worked back from a 3-0 count before Paul DeJong belted a full-count fastball over the middle to 398 feet to left to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

“The changeup I threw down the middle to Tommy Edman was horrific, and he did exactly what he should do with it,” Brault said. “And then DeJong, 3-2 after coming back 3-0, and once again, threw a fastball down the middle, and he did what he should have done with it. They hit mistakes more often than not. I made a few mistakes.”

Three of the first eight batters to face Brault connected with exit velocities topping 100 mph. Edmundo Sosa followed DeJong with a shot to deep center that bounced off the top of the wall as Bryan Reynolds misread its trajectory. After a 19-second review, it was ruled a triple.

Brault recovered to strand Sosa and retire 10 of the next 11 batters.

“I think that once I settled down, got into a groove and got into the fastball on my extension side well,” Brault said, “it worked out well.”

Happ – who was 7-2 with a 1.85 ERA in 11 starts for the Pirates in 2015 – retired the first nine batters he faced. That changed in the fourth, when Pirates second baseman Hoy Park hit a 1-1 fastball 379 feet over the Clemente Wall for his first major league home run to cut it to 2-1.

“I’m just trying to be on time every time,” said Park, acquired from the New York Yankees at the trade deadline. “I knew J.A. Happ is a really great pitcher, so I was trying to focus on every at bat. I hit it on time at the plate. I just got a good pitch to hit.”

Kyle Keller replaced Brault in the sixth and allowed two runs on three hits and a walk. Yadier Molina reached on an error by shortstop Kevin Newman – his third since a 76-game errorless streak to start the season – to score Dylan Carlson for a 3-1 lead, and Harrison Bader hit a bloop to center to drive in Nolan Arenado to make it 4-1.

Brault (0-1) allowed two runs on five hits, striking out six without allowing a walk on 78 pitches in five innings. Shelton was encouraged by Brault’s second start, even if it was a loss.

“He made two mistakes in the middle of the plate that they hit out of the ballpark for solo home runs,” Shelton said. “He gave us a chance to win. He continues to improve, continues to execute pitches. Just gave up the two solo homers.”

Brault could only tip his cap to Happ, who struck out five and walked two while throwing 53 of his 86 pitches for strikes. In 13 1/3 innings over two starts against the Pirates, Happ has allowed one run on two hits and four walks while striking out eight. Ryan Helsley, Genesis Cabrera and Alex Reyes, who earned his 23rd save, combined to pitch three scoreless innings in relief.

“With J.A. Happ, it’s just one of those things where it’s cool, because I’ve watched him a lot. He’s been around for a long time. He’s a really good pitcher,” Brault said. “I was hoping the boys would rack them up, but it doesn’t always happen that way. I thought he did really well and he was spotting his pitches really well consistently throughout the game. That’s going to happen sometimes. He was on, and we couldn’t capitalize, and that’s OK. I think he’s a good pitcher, and he had a good night tonight. It’s hard to beat those guys when they’re on.”